Handling backlash on social networks

You are not as good as they say when you win nor are you as bad as they tell you when you lose.”

Following the events of the #Oga-At-The-Top saga, I am compelled to dedicate this week’s column to it for three reasons. First, as a medical doctor I realise that the Lagos State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr. Obafaiye Shem (and by extension his family) may suffer from some form of posttraumatic stress. This can lead to depression and the like (I hope not).

Second, since I manage the reputation of organisations, I feel duty-bound to suggest ways by which individuals and organisations can better manage their brands when there are online reputational issues.

Finally, following an incident during my secondary school days, I was misquoted and ridiculed in a song specially composed for me. Many years later, I am still greeted with this song by friends from that era. It could have been viral if the social media, as we now know it, existed at that time.

Mr. Shem was made the butt of his peers’ jokes – a comic relief for many people. We have passed the tipping point and stretched this laugh too tight. It is time to stop it and move on.

He erred in transferring the burden of knowledge to his Oga. The buck stops at your table and not your #OgaAtTheTop. Too many times someone else or another team is to blame for organisation and personal failure.

It is unsurprising to find people who do not know the website address of their organisation. Some do not know its products and/or services. A good number of people have come to depend on Google to save their blushes.

The responsibility for what you know is entirely yours. How you obtain that knowledge is entirely up to you. An unwilling man would give a thousand excuses. A willing man would find a thousand ways.

The awesome destructive power of social media

The social media is very powerful and should be used with great caution. Since the incident, the video has gone viral, viewed over 190,000 times making it the most viewed video on the Channels TV YouTube channel. The hashtag #OgaAtTheTop was the top trending topic in Nigeria on Twitter for days. It also ignited a T-Shirt campaign, a music video and a remix tape. Poor Mr Shem.

I have not tweeted about the incident. I have also not seen the video (on purpose). My thoughts are with Mr Shem. What state of mind is he in now? How would he recover? What kind of support is being offered to him? Is he being counseled? What is the effect of this “shame” on his spouse and children? What if you are the head of the organisation how would you have handled the issue? – a) bury your head in shame b) deny the unfortunate fellow c) wield the big stick d) ignore it and pretend it would all go away soon?

At times like these, let us be reminded about our own shortcomings. Careers have been ruined, homes destroyed, jobs lost and deaths caused by social media (even in this country). I think it is enough. Those who propagate such abject humiliation of this man are simply giving charcoal to the fire of those who want social media to be regulated. We have freedom of speech but sometimes brevity is the soul of business. In great actions men show themselves as they ought to be. It is in the little actions that they show themselves as they really are.

Help! We are being attacked on social media

How do you handle an ongoing negative backlash on social media? How do you recover your brand’s reputation?

Here are a few steps I advocate:

Leadership: The first step is for the most senior officer (The Oga at the Top) to accept responsibility to lead the rescue mission. In this case, it could have been at the national level in conjunction with Mr. Shem’s office.

Speed: The issue should have been speedily analysed within minutes to hours and an appropriate response crafted. The response should contain an unreserved apology (not an explanation or an excuse) and an admittance of the error. It should be sincere. It should state categorically what the error was. It might also contain how the organisation intends to use the lessons learnt to prevent a reoccurrence. A tinge of humour wouldn’t harm anyone. The organisation has to be able to have a good laugh at itself.

Like for Like: This response should be put up on the organisation’s social media pages. If it does not have, it should create the appropriate ones immediately. The rationale is to respond, using the same media that promoted the incident’s virality. Once the response is up – as a tweet, post, etc- it has the capacity to alter the speed and nature of the negative mentions. If the response comes across as really sincere, the negative mentions would begin to drop as the positive and neutral mentions increase. A number of my clients have successfully come out of situations like these with their heads held high following self inflicted negative publicity stunts.

A typical tweet/post in response to such negative press might be, “Our Lagos State commandant goofed big time. #OgaAtTheTop is inexcusable and we are deeply sorry. We would continue improving. We live to learn”. Simple yet profound.

Alas, that was not the case. As at Sunday, March 17, 2013 there was yet no official response on the organisation’s social media pages. What a missed opportunity!

My take out

For the rest of us, it is time to bridge the gaps in our knowledge or keep mum in public. If recruitment firms were to record and play back interview sessions, we might find more hilarious and outrageous comments. Remember, what can go wrong may go wrong…so plan for it.

I leave Mr Shem with the words of this famous Japanese saying, “Fall seven times, rise up eight times”.

I visited Abuja for the first time last month and when
I was being driven to the house of my younger sister that I was visiting, she
and her husband started discoursing about Bishop Solomon Koleayo after we saw a
bill board of the Bishop’s programme along the airport road. I was so
interested in the gist that I asked more and what they told me was so
interesting that I told them I was going to
visit him to see things for my self before I go back to Australia. I visited
the prophet in his beautiful office lol I can’t remember entering an office as
beautiful as that in a long time. I waited till it got to my turn and I was
asked by his staff to enter his main office and as soon as I entered his
office, he told me I just came from Australia, I am just visiting Abuja for the
first time, and that I was about divorcing my wife. He warned me not to divorce
her because it’s her grace that has been covering me and that if I do, the
enemies would have space to enter into my life to destroy me, that I should
forget relocating back to Nigeria for now and I am having problems because I am
fighting with my wife and womanizing. I was so shocked, and dumbfounded because
I hadn’t seen anything like that before.

I never believed in seers and spiritualism. I that
went there just to see the young bishop they’ve been gossiping about just to
while away time and see things for myself but as soon as the bishop downloaded
my life to me without I even saying a word, I just feel to the ground and laid
myself to the ground in his office and begging him to pray for me.

Things where difficult for me in Sydney with I
almost losing my house and I was contemplating relocating to Nigeria to start a
new life, things have normalized for me, I have paid all my debts and I have a
good job and investment now.

Brethren, It’s only a fool that wouldn’t believe in
God and his prophets.

Ugo Chukwurah

________________________________________

I was finding it difficult to sleep, both during the

day and at night,to the extent that,this problem started affecting my health

negatively.When I could no longer handle this insomnia on my own,I called

Bishop Solomon Koleayo and He prayed a short prayer with me on the phone.Now I

can sleep very well.

– Olugbenga Oladipupo, Dutse

__________________________________________

I’ve been down through the month of january cos my

salary was not paid, my wife had miscarriage,my landlord has given me notice to

quit and it was like the end has come but I met with the servant of GOD (Bishop

koleayo) and he prayed for me and also gave me the anointed water for free and

told me to wait and pray for 3days of which I did After d prayers I became

expectant all of a sudden someone who has

promised me a contract I call to say hello and he ask me to see him in his

office on monday 25/2/2013 and I did go only for him to introduce me to someone

and today 26/2/2013 I have received my contract papers and I am moving to site

tomorrow pls join me to celebrate this GOD cos he is just too much BABA may ur

name be praised forever.

Evans Imalele, Abuja.

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When i heard about what God does with Bishop Koleayo in Abuja, I had to visit

him because i needed serious prayers for protection because many attempts had

been made on my life both spiritually and physically.

Some of my political opponents wanted me

dead.

Few weeks after i visited Bishop Koleayo, i drove into my compound after the

Thank you sir for this piece.I saw the video and felt very sorry for the man.

Personally , this part of your column challenges me to be more responsible ….

“The buck stops at your table and not your #OgaAtTheTop….The responsibility for what you know is entirely yours. How you obtain that knowledge is entirely up to you. An unwilling man would give a thousand excuses. A willing man would find a thousand ways.”

Hopefully the organisation can learn a few lessons from your suggestions.Your column is gathering momentum weekly.E ku ise!

Thank you.

http://twitter.com/safetywithfayo Fayo Williams

A thought provoking article which shows why organizations cannot afford to ignore the internet and all its “siblings” – good and bad, including social media, cybercrime etc. The 21st Century institution must empower and re-train its personnel on a regular basis. A lesson for all!

DrFash

I was enjoying your write up until I got to the point where you said you didn’t watch the video(on purpose). I opine that you are not qualified to give an opinion on the whole saga if you didn’t watch it. Albeit, I agree that there should have been an appropriate response by Mr Shem himself. It would have been beautiful if he gave a press conference sporting an “Oga at the top” shirt, and sincerely apologize for his goof and making a laugh out of it all.
I join others to laugh at my mistakes too.

DrFash

My bad. Bad English. * It would have been beautiful if he gave a press conference sporting an “Oga at the top” shirt, and sincerely apologized for his goof and made a laugh out of it all.